From David Eze,
Abakaliki
Not fewer than eleven people were killed when a bus carrying 14 passengers coming from Umuahia to Afikpo lost control and somersaulted and caught fire.
According to an witness report, the accident occurred along Afikpo/ Okigwe expressway by Ayaragu in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State when a bus belonging to Abia Line Network coming from Umuahia to Afikpo lost control killing almost all the passengers on board. He narrated that the bus was moving at an excessive speed and could not negotiate bend.
He said: “The driver could not negotiate a bend due to high speed and he lost control and somersaulted multiple times inside the bush; we were able to rescue two persons before the bus caught fire and we ran away.
“Chief Onyebuchi Ogbadu, the Ivo Local Government Area chairman, brought water tankers and put out the fire.
“Also, the police and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) quickly moved the two persons alive to a nearby hospital where they are receiving medical treatment. “More than ten bodies burnt beyond recognition have been evacuated to the mortuary by FRSC officials,”
When contacted, Mrs. Loveth Odah, Police Public Relations Officer, Ebonyi state command who confirmed the accident said that the bus, an eighteen seaters with registration number, NUS 938 SA, conveying about 14 passengers on board was returning from Abia state but crashed at Ayaragu community in Ivo local government area of Ebonyi state.